Title: Building DNA models with K'NEX

Simple and informative models of DNA can be built with K'NEX brand constructors, found at most toy stores. These models, which take only a few minutes to build, illustrate many important physical properties of DNA including the major and minor grooves, antiparallel strands, right-handed and left-handed helices, supercoiling, replication, etc. By building and manipulating the models, students (and teachers) can gain an intuitive sense of the physical properties of DNA which are essential to many cellular processes. Instructions for building the models and illustrations of various properties of DNA will be presented. A small set of KNEX pieces will be given to each participant.

Title: Analyzing Phylogenetic Tree Algorithms

Phylogenetic trees are a graphical representation of the evolutionary relationship between a collection genes or species. Much research has been devoted toward developing algorithms for inferring phylogenetic trees from genetic sequences. In this talk, we discuss how to compare algorithms, based on the quality of trees they produce, and the efficiency of the algorithms.